Until this summer I had thought of Madagascar first as the setting for a popular animated film, then as a fascinating island of mysterious pirate tales and strange animals, and only thirdly as a possible destination for a climbing trip. Now, the first image of this country that comes to my mind is the incredible Tsaranoro Massif. However, let us start at the beginning.

It is the summer of 1998. A team of alpinists composed of Rolando Larcher, Marco Sterni, and Erik Švab arrives at the still untouched Tsaranoro Atsimo. Its east wall is the first thing a climber will notice. The three climbers finish the expedition with a new route: Never the Same (670m, 8a+ A0, AAJ 1999), the first route up Tsaranoro Atsimo. Beyond the numbers, it was a great route for the beauty of the line, the amazing rock quality, and the style—a challenging climb that requires concentration, finger strength, and perfect technique. The only drawback was Marco’s hang on the hardest pitch, which did not allow for the completely free ascent.

Now it is summer 2015, 17 years later, and numerous routes have been opened in the Tsaranoro Massif. Our friend Marco Sterni still vividly recalls the un-freed pitch, and, to celebrate his 50th birthday, he proposes to Andrea Polo, Gabriele Gorobey, and me to return to Madagascar and complete the free climb. The four of us fly to Antananarivo on September 17.

Albeit with considerable more comfort than in 1998, our journey on Malagasy roads to reach the walls proves quite an adventure. Although we camp in the bungalows of Tsarasoa Camp, instead of in a tent under a mango tree, as on Marco’s first expedition, this does not prevent us from appreciating the pristine natural setting of the valley. Life here is timed by several cycles of rice cultivation, the main occupation of the population in this area of Madagascar, along with the making and firing of clay bricks. A working day starts at sunrise and ends at sunset. A very different world, simple and poor, but where everyone you meet greets you, more or less surprised, yet always with a smile.

Never the Same starts an hour’s walk from camp. The east-facing wall provides only a few hours of climbing: The sun would make for an ordeal even for the toughest fingers and strongest feet. We have no portaledge, and the Tsaranoro granite does not offer any places to bivy so we decide to move forward on the route day by day, climbing only during shady hours and equipping the wall with fixed lines until the crux eighth pitch.

The route is stunning: a succession of increasingly difficult slabs up to 7c, where every move startles us due to the small holds. Climbing here is made unique by the incredible colors and the beautiful afternoon thermal wind, and also from Jurassic Park–style “music” that comes from the sacred forest below. Nevertheless, the real masterpiece for rock lovers is the eighth pitch: a smooth overhang with a single possible line of ascent along perfect and variously shaped and colored crimps, leading to the overlying slab with a tough crux on tiny crystals.

After a day’s rest to redeem energy and skin, Gabriele, Andrea, and I each manage to free climb it on our second try. Number-wise, we think it is solid 8a, but the main fulfillment is in having freed a route that was opened 17 years ago along with the first ascensionist himself. The next day we climb to the summit. After the crux pitch the difficulty decreases (7a+ max), but the style is very technical and the spacey bolts demand concentration right to the top. After a well-deserved rest day, Andrea and I manage the ascent in one push, with Andrea freeing all 13 pitches in a day without mistakes (670m, 13 pitches, 8a [7b obligatory]).

Satisfied with these results, we decide to spend the remaining days focusing on other routes. After a repeat of the beautiful, and by now classic, Out of Africa on Tsaranoro Kely, Marco returns to Italy. The rest of us choose to attempt the first repetition of the newly established route Fire in the Belly (700m, 8a++). We were perhaps attracted by the route’s name, one that was now well suited to our bowel conditions.

We once again decide to climb in the shade, to use fixed lines, and climb team-free. The route is characterized by two hard pitches on exciting yellow walls. The seventh pitch (8a+) is freed by Gabriele on his second attempt; the tenth (graded “8a++” by the first ascensionists) is freed by Andrea in three attempts. The remaining pitches have lower grades, up to 7c, but they are challenging due to the considerable distance between the bolts; these are climbed onsight. It takes us five days to climb the route, with one bivy below the crux pitch on the fourth day. We now understand the usefulness of portaledges!

Carlo Giuliberti, Italy